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Meridian Introduces Sweep: A Canadian Banking First That "Sweeps" Money Daily to Avoid Missed Payments While Maximizing Savings

TORONTO, March 29, 2016 /CNW/ - Eighty-seven per cent of Ontarians believe they should have enough money in their chequing account for unexpected expenses, yet less than one-half have more than $500 on hand in their account according to new data released by Meridian, Ontario's largest credit union. In fact, 42 per cent of those surveyed, admit they have had at least one incident in the past year where they did not have enough money in their chequing account to cover important payments.

Sweep, a feature offered by Meridian, links a Member's chequing account and high interest savings account to help individuals automatically manage their cash flow while maximizing their savings. Every night, funds are automatically transferred between the Member's Meridian chequing and savings accounts based on customized balance limits set by the account holder.

The benefit to consumers is twofold:

1)

Avoid Missed Payments:Sweep will help to ensure Members have sufficient funds in their chequing account by automatically transferring funds every night from their savings accounts into their chequing account based on limits they set to cover day-to-day expenses; potentially protecting Members from missed payments or charges resulting from an account being overdrawn.

2)

Maximize Savings: The feature will also work in 'reverse' to help Members save by sweeping excess funds every night from their chequing account, where it may be lying dormant, into their Good to Grow high-interest savings account to help them meet their savings goals sooner.

"Sweep is another Canadian banking first offered by Meridian and demonstrates our promise of having our Members' backs," says Bill Whyte, SVP & Chief Member Services Officer at Meridian. "This feature provides individuals with the peace of mind of knowing they will always have a certain amount of money in their chequing account to cover day-to-day expenses while also helping to maximize savings."

For example, if a Member sets a Sweep minimum value of $1,000 and a maximum value limit of $2,000 the process would be as follows:

If the amount in the chequing dips to $950, that night, $50 will be transferred from the savings account into chequing to meet the minimum required.

To maximize savings, if the chequing account balance has more than $2,000, anything above that amount will be automatically moved over to the high-interest savings account.

The Meridian survey found that 34 per cent of Canadians have been in overdraft at least once during the past year. So it's no surprise that among those who do have more money than they need in their chequing account (37 per cent), a fear of going into overdraft (27 per cent) was the primary concern.

Other reasons why excess funds lay dormant include:

Not paying attention to the money in their account (18 per cent)

A lack of time to stay on top of it (14 per cent)

Don't have other accounts to put their money into (12 per cent).

About the Survey:The survey was conducted with 1,002 people in Ontario from November 2 to November 5, 2015 using Leger's online panel Legerweb. A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

About Meridian:With over 70 years of banking history, Meridian is Ontario's largest credit union, helping to grow the lives of more than a quarter of a million Members, including over 19,000 business Members. Meridian has $11 billion in assets under management and delivers a full range of financial services online, by phone, by mobile and through a network of 76 branches and 7 business centres. Meridian Members also have access to THE EXCHANGE® ATM/ABM Network, with more than 3,300 surcharge-free ABMs across Canada and 360,000 ABMs in the United States. For more information, please visit meridiancu.ca.